Perhaps no film this year has been as misunderstood and misrepresented as CITIZEN
VIGILANTE. It is not what you think it is, at least not exactly. However, it is
surprisingly well-crafted, especially given Uwe Boll’s reputation for
hack-work. If you can think for yourself, read my review and consider watching
it, so you can judge for yourself. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
O HORIZON suffers from some questionable casting and its scientific speculation has already been done better in several previous films. However, fatherhood still matters in its very-near-future world, which counts for something. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
THIS ORDINARY THING is a classy and concise documentary that collects the testimony of dozens of Righteous rescuers who saved he llivee of their Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust. With dramatic narration from Stephen Lang, Jeremy Irons, Dame Helen Mirren, etc., it celebrates those individuals who willingly chose to do the right thing. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
IX XI (screening at Tribeca) interviews witnesses (in a very broad sense) rather than 9/11 surivivors or victims' family members. Unfortunately, too much of the assembled oral history is extremely tangential--and at least one participant inappropriately trivializes the tragedy. The results are frustratingly inconsisteent and unfocused. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
SEVEN SNIPERS has a healthy interest in the mechanics of long-range marksmanship, but it is too timid to identify the conflicts and countries of its characters' backstories. The results are competent but rather generic. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
SLEEPING DOG plays like it was made for UAP true believers, by true believers. Journalist-activist Jeremy Corbell's blue collar presence well serves the film, but it lacks the restraintt and perspective of more credible UAP docs. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
CASA GRANDE is not YELLOWSTONE. It is much more ideologically charged than the popular franchise, in ways some fans might not appreciate. However, it has a healthy appreciation of traditional ranching life and a great villain in Lou Diamond Phillips. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
A COLLECTIVE DESCENT INTO EVIL, the latest Doc Emet documentary anaylzes Jew-Hatred (an ancient evil that just won't die), as well as the sinister extremist ideologies exploiting it, and the potentially dire consequences for Western democracies. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC represents an incisive politcal thriller with a touch of the absurd, which also evokes nostalgia for the golden age of Egyptian cinema. It unambiguously indicts el-Sisi's authoritarianism, but its trenchant criticisms apply to just about every other Middle Eastern regime, as well. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
Performing in a dance troupe should not require the degree of courage required of the Shen Yun company. The documentary UNBROKEN serves as an urgent wakeup call, exposing the CCP's extraterritorial harassment campaign against Shen Yun. Yet, it also serves as a performing arts doc, vividly capturing the company's artistry. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
BASEBALL: BEYOND BELIEF makes a compelling case that community,tradition, faith, and related optimism are uniquely baked into the fabric of the game. It celebrates lives of worship and fandom. Plus, it features several former NY Yankees. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
HBO's FUKUSHIMA: A NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE fully explains the tchnical aspects of the 2011 Japanese disaster and stirringly documents the heroism of the "Fukushima 50" (actually 69). However, it lacks sufficient sources when alleging corporate and official misconduct. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
CBS's MARSHALS lacks the complexity and biting wit of the original YELLOWSTONE, but it is a rugged, outdoorsy procedural, featuring sympathetic veteran characters, energetically executed action scenes, and an appreciation for the western way of life. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
Not exactly true crime, Paramount+'s WILD BOYS: STRANGERS IN TOWN chronicles the brouhaha that erupted when two brothers claiming to have been raised in a remote cabin with no contact with human society emerged from the Canadian woods. Its compassionate but honest treatment (to its credit) leaves viewers with highly ambiguous feelings towards its deceptive subjects. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
HBO's 33 PHOTOS FROM THE GHETTO thoughtfully analyzes Leszek Grzywaczewski's recently rediscovered photos of the Warsaw Uprising, whilechronicling the inspiring lives of the amateur photographer and the Jewish man, whose family he sheltered. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
Despite preachy advocacy, I WAS A STRANGER, from Angel Studios, viscrally depicts the old (Iranian-backed) regime's brutality in Aleppo and maintains a gripping sense of tension. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
THE COPENHAGEN TEST blends intrusive nano-tech with murky deep-state ethics into a potent and paranoid cocktail. It also features crisply executed fight sequences in each episode. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
Iraq's International Oscar submission THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE presents Saddam's cult of personality through the eyes of an innocent child. It is an emotionally devastating coming-of-age story and a stinging rebuke of Iraqi society under the dictator. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
On the Las Vegas Sphere's massive 160,000 square foot screen (20-30 times larger than the average IMAX) watching THE WIZARD OF OZ is once again "an event." The Sphere's AI-enhance "4D" presentatinon and re-recorded orchestral score are reviewed in THE EPOCH TIMES here.
They're now called UAPs instead of UFOs, but whatever term you prefer, the documentary THE AGE OF DISCLOSURE will convince a lot of viewers a lot of serious people are taking the phenomenon very seriously. While limited by its participants' legal constraints, it is quite measured and sobering. EPOCH TIMES review up here.
